Eco News

Be a Docent!

Barbara Cooksey loves being a docent and you will too! Photo by Diane Terry.

State Parks volunteer docent training starts soon. Pick a park and sign up to help make Santa Cruz area parks more welcoming, interesting and fun.

El Niño: Winners and Losers

Coyotes and other local wildlife will get fat this year thanks to El Niño. Photo by Franco Folini on Flickr.

The heavy rain and warm ocean provided by El Niño has put local wildlife into categories of winners and losers.

Is A New Species of Giant Salamander Living Under UCSC?

California Giant Salamander adult compared to a Slender Salamander. Photo credit to Gary Nafis

El Nino rains could aid research on the population of California giant salamanders—or their close, not fully formed relatives—found in the Porter Cave system under UC-Santa Cruz.

Every Ant in Its Place...Until They're Not.

We all know how it works. One ant starts the party and his buddies are close behind. Photo by Zainichi Gaikokujin.

Why do these tiny little insects make us mighty uncomfortable?

Northern Elephant Seals

The clash of the titans resumes! Photo by Mike Baird

The clash of the titans resumes! Elephant seals return to Año Nuevo State Park every winter to battle, breed, and sunbathe!

Hot Pink Pioneers

Hopkin's Rose Nudibranch, common in Southern California, is moving north with the warming currents. Photo by Rebecca Johnson.

The warm waters of El Niño are helping hot pink sea slugs return to the Northern California coastline.

Like Wildlife? Like Beer? Right This Way.

Woodland Critters sour ale goes on sale Dec. 12 at Discretion Brewing. Proceeds benefit the Land Trust.

For every bottle of Woodland Critters sour ale sold, Discretion Brewing will donate $2 to the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County.

The Costume-Wearing Crabs of Monterey Bay

The shells of decorator crabs are adorned with algae and other marine life that help them hide from predators. Catherine Drake photo.

New research explores the intriguing ways decorator crabs camouflage themselves from the predators of Monterey Bay.

The 2015 Friends Holiday Sale

Give somebody this setup, and you might get invited to a party! Photo courtesy Miller Maxfield..

Make a serious dent in that Santa list of yours at the Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks ParkStore holiday sale, Dec. 4-6 at the Mission Adobe.

From Santa Cruz to Solar City

with
on20Nov
Lyndon and Peter Rive, co-founders of Solar City, back in 2002.

Lyndon Rive, co-founder of SolarCity, sees business and technology as world-changing tools.

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